Digitization of Telecom and Smartphone Business: Post-COVID-19 Effects on the Industry

Digitization of Telecom and
Smartphone Business:
Haroon S Khan
Founder & Chairman, SANSO™️
Post COVID-19 effects on the Industry
with its Pros and Cons

Introduction:
A multinational technology company that performs
its in-house R&D, Design/Develop and
Produces/Manufactures, Telecom Equipments,
Telecom Infrastructure, Consumer Electronics,
Smart wearable/ IoT /Gadgets, Ecosystem,
Mobile Accessories as SANSO™️ | Sanso Mobile™️ |
Sanso Technologies.

Retail Transformation into DIGITAL Retail/E-Comm & FinTech
Retailing as a function is central to all economies: it bridges the varied
needs of consumers with specialized offerings of producers.
Retailing as a function is part of the retailing value chain. In its most
fundamental form, this value chain includes (brand) manufacturers,
institutional retailers, and consumers,1 with institutional retailing
referring to those agents whose sole or major income derives from the
conduct of retailing activities.
Consumers have traditionally made purchase decisions at the store
shelf, giving institutional brick-and-mortar retailers great power to
learn about and influence behaviors and preferences. With the rise of
e-commerce, mobile shopping, and most recently smart technologies,
new competitors threaten this long-standing supremacy. Adopting a
value-creation perspective,
The impact of digital
transformation on the
retailing value chain:
1

Retail Trend Transformation into DIGITAL Retail~E-Comm & FinTech
Depending on the importance of the new sources of value creation (in
different purchase situations), Smartphone and IoTs retailing may
prevail as an important interaction point in a multichannel decision
journey. However, increasing diffusion of branded-product platforms
including connected devices and online retail platforms is shifting this
authority to new players. For the parties involved in this multilayered
competition, acknowledging the changes and actively managing their
position in the evolving eco-systems is crucial.
we analyze how
digitization started the
erosion of institutional
retailing as the
primary interface to
the customer.
1

Online retail platforms have been
successfully established as another
constituency that claims the primary
customer interface in the retailing
value chain. Examples are Amazon
Marketplace, Alibaba, eBay, and JD.
These platforms employ digital
technologies as intermediaries in the
exchange of products and services
between buyers and sellers.
Rising importance
of the platform–
customer
interface:
1
however, these platforms
operate across product brands and they
are focused on the exchange of goods
rather than on providing ongoing
interaction value in the
post-purchase phase. As a major point of
distinction from institutional (online)
retailing, the seller retains sovereignty
over its product offerings (e.g.,
assortment, pricing), whereas the
platform owner acts as a matchmaker
between the parties.

Platform businesses have
revolutionized many
retailing markets and forced
traditional players to exit
the market or consider far-
reaching strategy
adaptation. Transformative
business model innovations
often become necessary,
because competing
head-to-head on product
sales with fully grown retail
platforms is almost always a
lost cause.
Rising importance
of the platform–
customer
interface:
1
Remaining importance of the retailer–customer
interface. The erosion of physical retailing through
the rise of online and mobile shopping has placed
institutional retail under significant pressure to
redefine its position in the omni-channel
environment.
Pure online retailers like Zalando, Bonobos, and even
Amazon have opened offline stores. Warby Parker, the
New York-based eyeglass company, has invested
heavily into physical retailing, increasing its local
presence by almost 40% to 68 stores in 2017. These
examples show that stationary retail formats in
combination with an integrated online channel foster
channel synergies rather than cannibalization.

The one-stop shopping approach, a vital part of
those stores' value proposition, is much better
suited to online retail platforms with limitless
shelving and ample cross-buying opportunities
This transition will also lead to less impulse
buying in the store and fewer opportunities for
cross-selling – activities that are critical for the
profitability of physical stores' operation.
Implications for future marketing
research:
1
Digitization breaks up retail's monopolistic ownership of
the customer interface and provides opportunities for
new gatekeepers to emerge. It shifts traditional retail
functions to different players, rendering the creation of
competitive advantage based on these functions
increasingly difficult. However, digitization also gives
rise to new sources of value creation, which address
long-standing customer needs more effectively than
previously possible.

Digital transformation in the retail industry
and the new Digital commerce reality:
Retailers are experimenting with a myriad of
ways to respond to new shopper
expectations, bridge digital and physical
shopping experiences and try literally
dozens of ways to transform the retail
experience, handle back-office processes
better and much more.
Several chains have opened concept stores
to see how consumers are interacting with
specific technologies and services before
rolling them out to more stores. It’s safe to
say that the retail industry is among the
industries that are most affected by digital
business transformation due to Covid-19 and
for other several reasons.

Among the key drivers of digital
transformation in retail are:
90 percent of people use their
smartphones in stores while
they shop.
The evolving expectations from
the so-called digital or omni-
channel shopper who really
doesn’t care about channels as
much as we do.
Drivers of digital
transformation
in the retail
industry
The need to blur digital and physical
experiences with in-store experiences as a
crucial element and the de facto
disappearance of the borders between digital
and physical already existing in the mind of
the consumer and further enabled by
the Internet of Things and the immersive
experiences in virtual and augmented reality.
Challenges on the level of the supply chain
which is really crucial and all too often far
from digitized enough. Speed, time and a
transparent view are key.

Competition from digital and
overall customer experience champions
and increasing cost pressure. Fortunately,
thanks to new digital possibilities, there
are ample ways to decrease costs, among
others on the level of digitization and
supply chain.
The impact and opportunities in areas
such as data-driven optimization
and marketing, empowerment of staff
and new technologies.
Drivers of digital
transformation
in the retail
industry
An appetite from shoppers to have a
personalized experience, which is
pretty hard to achieve as it depends on
the context and can range from the
need to find and buy things fast to the
exact opposite: have a relaxed and
immersive shopping experience with
digital technologies available all over
the place and used for anything from
smart displays to even music and
ambiance.

Retail and the consequences
of changing consumer
behavior:
Again, the reasons why retail is transforming are
numerous. However, as often the digital
transformation needs mainly come from a changed
behavior – here in people’s capacities as shoppers.
We tend to call them ‘digital consumers‘ although
that’s not correct.
Drivers and evolutions
regarding changing shopping
and retail behavior:
A channel-agnostic shopping journey.
The use of digital tools and channels across each
possible stage of the shopping journey.

Seamless — and immersive —
experiences.
This has a consequence on typical pre-shopping
tasks (seeking products or shops, comparing,
reading reviews,…), the actual shopping
transaction (in-store, via digital platforms,….)
and post-shopping (word-of-mouth, reviews,
customer service, future purchases.
The expectations of a seamless customer and
shopping experience across
multiple touchpoints and channels, whereby the
consumer displays so-called omni-channel
behavior and seeks experiences that are as easy,
fast and frictionless — but sometimes immersive
— as offered by the best-in-class retailers and
other companies.

Innovation as a new expectation
The growing demands of consumers for innovative
shopping possibilities and experiences that stretch
beyond excellence but are unique and satisfy the need
that many consumers clearly have for innovative brand
and shopping experiences BEYOND excellent customer
experience.
Rapid access to information.
The information and service expectations shoppers
have from store staff. The need for information about
products and shops are obvious in a digital context.
However, your shopper also wants fast information in
an in-store context and that has an impact on your
staff and on the need to empower it with the proper
tools and resources.

Self-service
Shoppers are getting used to self-service, self-checkout
and finding information and support themselves.
It is expected that by 2017 half of all transactions will
happen via mobile POS or self-checkout. The challenge
is that not everyone is as keen about self-anything and
in many cases a personal contact is preferred, for
instance in an urgent service context or when seeking
information about products.
Referring to the previous point on information, there is
a case to not just empower your store’s staff but also to
move information self-service tools to touchpoints
where they create most value, enabling shoppers to
inform themselves easily. Such information resources
typically contain information on product features,
whether products are in stock (and if not, where or
when they are, information on rebates etc.).

Mobility
Retail customers use digital tools in several stages of
the shopping journey, even if 90 percent of in-store
transactions happens online.
A significant part of these tasks are performed using a
mobile device and on the go. Moreover, when in your
store, a significant percentage of shoppers gets out
their smartphones to perform various tasks whereby the
lines between digital and physical disappear thanks to
consumers’ “mobile ability”.

Some facts that make this more
tangible:
At one or the other point in the
shopping process, people use the
Internet, regardless of devices. 90
percent of pre-purchasing research
for instance happens online and
1 in 3 consumers start their shopping
journey on a retailer’s website,
again regardless of devices.
Digital without
limits and
limitations
A first picture that
emerges is one of
digital ubiquity,
also in the in-store
context.
A whopping 90 percent of people
use their smartphones in stores
while they shop.
54 percent performs price
comparisons while in your store,
48 percent looks up product
information and 2 percent checks
reviews online. You can find more
similar data in the infographic from
BT (a partner), embedded below.

When asked about how technology will
change the shopping experience by 2020, a
range of technologies is mentioned, from
smart fitting rooms, low-energy Bluetooth
devices enabling multiple goals in areas such
as payments, floor space management and
interactive signage to RFID deployed at item
level, ‘whole trolley/basket’ checkout and
financial services for known customers. It’s
clear that the Internet of Things will play a
key role in retail, also in the context of
that hyper-personalization.
Research by OVUM, indicated
that managing customer
engagement is the biggest
challenge for retailers and
shows how technology is
changing the way we shop.
Digital
transformation in
the retail industry:
technologies

It is said that the digital transformation
economy almost by definition is one of
partnerships. It is more than ever about
collaboration with partners who test new
technologies and experiences in retail.
Obviously we can’t forget the crucial role
of big data. Data is the new oil in retail (too)
and is key in many areas as depicted below in
the image

Research, data and findings
regarding the state of digital
transformation in retail
It also mentions the critical role
of the cloud and gives some good examples of
retailers and how they navigate(d) digital
transformation.
Obviously we see all pillars of
the third platform (big data/analytics, social,
mobile and cloud) playing a big role in retail as
are new technologies added upon that layer
such as the Internet of Things and artificial
intelligence or cognitive if you like.
The global retail landscape is changing rapidly, mainly
e-commerce with the likes of Amazon growing fast as
you know and traditional brick-and-mortar retailers
seeing serious drops in revenues, caused by digital
disruption, defined as the speed of adoption of new
technologies, as John Maxwell puts it in in the video
you can see on the page of the report and which we
used for this small list of findings.

The need for Digitization of Telecom/Smartphone Business:
Improve the efficiency of business
processes, consistency, and quality
worldwide. ... Digitization helps your
business grow at a fraction of the
cost. A proper digitalization plan can
help reinvent processes, improve
quality and promote consistency
What Digitization
Does to the
Telecom Business?
2
Digitally native companies are
fiercely disrupting traditional
companies, forcing industry giants to
undergo a digital transformation in
order to compete and, for some,
survive. It’s become critical to
develop a digital customer
experience that creates a
personalized, seamless experience
with a brand across every touchpoint
consumers have with it.

The need for Digitization of Telecom/Smartphone Business:2
This phenomenon has also made a substantial
impact on communications and digital technology
has placed the whole universe in our pockets,
allowing us to keep in touch with just a few taps
on a screen. Air travel made the globe smaller,
while digital tech is bringing the world to us, no
matter where we are.
The digital revolution has permeated most aspects
of our lives and the intersection of technology and
humanity has never been more profound. As such,
digital technology is everywhere, from shopping
and finance to health, Telecom, Smartphones,
Entertainment etc.

The need for Digitization of Telecom/Smartphone Business:2
The telecommunications industry is at the
bleeding edge of this change, both as an industry
seeing extensive scale change in its market
condition and as well as a key driver of overall
digitization
Digital transformation is developing as a key driver
of far-reaching development in our general
surroundings. It can altogether enhance customer
lives and make more extensive societal great
while giving organizations new open doors for
value creation and catch.

Human & Digital world interaction especially
in these days these would be base points mainly:
According to Statista, the current number of smartphone users in the
world today is 3.5 billion, and this means 44.98% of the world’s population
owns a smartphone. This figure is up considerably from 2016 when there
was only 2.5 billion users, 33.58% of that year’s global population.
How Many People Have Mobile Phones In The World?
3
By the end of 2018, there were
over 2.5 billion
smartphone users
worldwide
In 2019,
56%
of the world population
has access to the internet
As of 2018, more than
2.6 billion people
use social media platforms

How Many People Have Mobile Phones In The World?
In 2020, including both smart and
feature phones, the current number
of mobile phone users is 4.78 billion,
which makes 61.43% of people in the
world a cell phone owner. Feature
phones are the basic cell phones
without apps and complex OS systems,
more prominent in developing
countries.
According to GSMA real-time
intelligence data, today, there are
5.24 Billion people that have a
mobile device in the world. This
means that 67.35% of the world’s
population has a mobile device. Back
in 2017, the number of people with
mobile devices was only 53% and
breached the 5 billion mark.
Statista predicts
that by 2023 this
number of mobile
device users will
increase to
7.33 billion

How Many People Have Mobile Phones Connections In The World?
Future-Proofing
A key challenge for any business is predicting what will
happen in the future. Digital technology evolves at such
a rate that it’s difficult to know which direction the
market will take in 5, 10, or 20 years.
At present, we can be fairly confident that
5G, automation, the internet of things, and AI
will play a role in the digital landscape. Comprehensive
training of staff will prove pivotal, as will
timely investment in technology and infrastructure.
What are the Technology
Opportunities for Telecoms?
It’s not all doom and gloom for the
telecoms industry.
Digital transformation provides ample
opportunity for companies to update
their practices, diversify their businesses,
and ultimately thrive in a new way.

Trend Changing
Telecommunications providers find themselves in a unique situation
where they serve as the very platform that so many digitally native
companies depend upon—powering the phones that make their
mobile apps possible. And yet telcos find that they, too, must
digitally transform in order to remain relevant.
Almost everyone has a smartphone these days and adding account or
phone lines is no longer the path for revenue growth in the telco
industry. To grow is to retain for telcos—the only viable path forward
is to keep your customers happy and upselling their accounts . And
this means increasing your brand’s relevancy in your consumers’
lives.
But how do you do that?
This rapid pace of
change presents
challenges and
opportunities for
telecom/Smartphone
companies towards
digitization.
4

Become Customer Obsessed:
Telcos must shift from being telecommunication providers to
become telecommunication experience facilitators.
Today’s customers value experiences more than products and
their loyalty isn’t limited to the signal from your tower.
How do you make them feel from initial plan subscription, to
renewals, updates, billing, and promotional offers? App
messaging now plays a factor in their experience with your
brand. Are you helpful or bothersome?
To retain subscribers in
today’s market
requires a major shift
in brand purpose.

Consumers will have no problem muting your messaging — or worse…
Additionally, the customer experience goes
beyond their journey from initiation to
renewal, and past personalized messaging.
Is there consistency across your products— or
does this need improvement? The messaging,
branding, and account management across your
cell, cable, internet, and security products must
be seamless.
Many consumers do not have a history of
having positive experiences with telcos
that have traditionally been difficult and
cumbersome to interact with. As a telco, you
really do have to reinvent your internal purpose
and overcome the reputation.

To do this well, it requires brands to create
truly personalized digital experiences and
two-way engagement opportunities.
Powerful cloud marketing solutions, like
Localytics, give marketers the ability to
glean deep insight into how consumers use
their apps, and then create unique offers
that are helpful, timely, and personalized to
the customer’s daily life.
Beyond providing exceptional
network performance, telcos need
to interact with their customer base
across all customer touchpoints, and
provide a consistent experience no
matter what channel a consumer
chooses to use.

Digitization in Currency and Business Dynamics
as Per Covid-19 Effect:
5
The key is to personalize the experience so
that consumers find your communication
and app helpful and not annoying. To
digitally transform will require a new
mindset and redesigning what you can do to
be of service in your consumers’ lives.
Many of our customers are engaging with their customers
via their mobile app. For example, the mobile app could
track when a consumer is nearing their data limit and
offer an upgrade or additional data. You could also use
geo-location services to determine where a consumer is
shopping and, in partnership with retailers, offer
promotional discounts if they enter the store. But it also
means giving consumers opportunities to communicate
with you on the channel of their choice and to do so in
ways that make it effortless and easy.

Post Covid-19 Trend Changing:
It’s prudent for businesses in
the sector to reevaluate
customers’ journeys and
identify key touchpoints. By
understanding what
consumers need, telecoms
can ensure that they’re in
precisely the right position to
deliver.
Telecoms can’t fight the changing
market, but they can embrace it.
Consumers have already adjusted their
behavior, and so what they need from
telecom companies has also changed.
Instead of providing direct services,
telecoms are becoming conduits for
customers to access digital platforms.
Evolution,
Not Revolution:

Five digital capabilities of highly profitable companies
(Pros & Cons):
6
Companies in all industries are
struggling to implement digitization
across functions. Obstacles include rigid
legacy systems, overly complex IT
architectures, and data sources that are
not integrated in any way. Given all the
variables to contend with, executives
typically aren’t sure where to start with
their digitization programs. Our
benchmarking research with telecom
companies suggests that moving the
needle in the five core areas above is a
good start. i.e
1 Establish robust customer-analytics capabilities
2 Digitize the order-management process
3 Digitize the customer-relationship management process
4 Streamline the company’s application landscape
5 Standardize and automate the company’s IT infrastructure
6 Digital Payment and gateways i.e FinTech,
Crypto/block-chain Currencies etc

Solution:
To digitally transform in the face of this means to
become customer obsessed at the very core of
your business. Customer focus must guide every
aspect of what the experience of your brand
feels like to your consumers and design your
digital transformation around that.
Digitally native companies have the advantage of
having surprised consumers with new ways of
engaging and often delighting them from the
start. To compete with this, telcos must
reimagine the customer journey and surprise
consumers with unexpected experiences, as well.

Changed the Way Supply Chain Is Managed:
Technology has majorly changed supply chain management, in
particular, the service side of things. Real time delivery, cross docking
and third party logistics are a few of the ways technology has
improved the way supply chain is managed for retailers:
More Than One Place to Make a Quick Purchase!
Instead of having to go to one physical outlet, the technology of social
media has allowed many avenues through which customers can browse
products, read through reviews and buy.
Shopping On the Go!:
The ease for customers to shop from the comfort of their home or any
other place has really revolutionized the retail industry, as now
business is taking place 24/7 rather than within the confines of the set
hours of the workday. Consumers can make big purchases through their
small smartphones, making it insanely accessible for the majority of
the people.
Technology is revolutionizing the way we
conduct business. Industries are
completely changing the way they execute
their services from archaic techniques to
using modern technology for most of their
needs. To accommodate this fast paced
era, technology has become an absolute
necessity. One of the industries that
technology has really transformed is the
retail industry. The retail business can be
the trickiest to get right due to many
factors, and technology has undoubtedly
helped to counter many of the hurdles that
come with having a retail business. Here
are a few of the ways in which technology
has changed the retail industry.

Go International!: Customer Insights:
Eliminates the
Need for Cashiers:
Technology has helped to
transform the world into a
global village, with the
exchange of knowledge,
experiences and so much more
happening from our fingertips.
People can peruse your store
and order your products sitting
all the way across the world,
just through the use of
technology. This helps retailers
expand their business and
operate all around the world
without having to physically set
up shop there.
Retailers can now closely follow customer
trends, helping them figure out which
products are attracting customers the most.
The fact that you can live chat with your
consumers also helps to figure out their
thoughts and work more closely with them to
help you improve your business and for
retailers to work in line with their customers
likes and dislikes. Analytics can also show
retailers the characteristics of their audience,
helping to target and cater to them
effectively.
Understanding the MarketRetailers through the
use of technology can have a better
understanding of their market. Technology
aids retailers to competitively price their
products, by doing research of other markets
and their prices as well as their products.
Retail stores have to pay extra
money on utility bills and paying
employees working to maintain
the store and to help keep it
functioning. Technology has
allowed retailers to take their
business online, without the need
for cashiers. Technology has also
helped retailers keep a better
track of their money and
accounts, as clouding systems and
online booking has made it
insanely easy for retailers to keep
all their business in one place,
and eliminate the need for
physical labor.

Conclusion:
In order to survive and proceed
profitably, Companies must
embrace the new challenging shift
of Retail business from a
conventional offline mode to well
utilized and trusted, cost effective
digital platform which is the only
way-out even in PANDAMIC to keep
all businesses alive via its digital
platform and service offerings.
Here is one conclusion from the report:
“Smartphone/Telecom and other major
product’s retail is one of the most rapidly
changing verticals across the world and is
often at the forefront of technological
advancement to keep pace with the evolving
needs of a 24/7 customer base”.

&
Haroon S Khan
Founder & Chairman, SANSO™️

Digitization of Telecom and Smartphone Business: Post-COVID-19 Effects on the Industry

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Digitization of Telecom and Smartphone Business: Post-COVID-19 Effects on the Industry